Why in the world did I ever think Truth About T.M.S. was going to be so much shorter than any other novel I’ve written??? I’m already at 33,000 words, which was about as long as Tank Talbott’s Guide to Girls was, and I’m guessing I’ve got about 2,0000-3,000 words to go. On THIS draft.
I certainly cut when I revise, but I also add. And I tend to add more than I cut. So this book will probably be pushing 40,000 words before all is said and done. (Though I guess Sliding Into Home and Do You Know the Monkey Man were both over 40,000 words…and this one is aimed at probably the same audience as Sliding Into Home and Do You Know the Monkey Man, whereas the Tank books are aimed at more of an elementary school audience…)
I’m still hoping to finish this draft before my writer’s group meets Tuesday night…I don’t know if I’ll make it or not. It depends on what we, as a family, decide to do this weekend.
Preteen has read the first 118 pages…in fact, he got in trouble for staying up too late reading it the other night and for not moving along the next morning because he got caught reading it again when he was supposed to be getting ready for school. The rules don’t change around here just because it’s MY book he’s reading.
I made him macaroni and cheese the other night, and while I was making it I had to listen to non-stop “they wouldn’t say this,” and “you should change that” because he was reading while I was cooking (if you call making macaroni and cheese out of a box “cooking”). He’s actually pretty good at offering criticism…he could be a little more tactful about it, but a lot of his comments I find I’m agreeing with. He especially took issue with the word “crap.” He said, “Mom, they wouldn’t say ‘crap,’ they’d say.-!” Yeah, yeah…I know what they’d say. But I’m walking a fine line between keeping the dialogue realistic and making sure teachers/school librarians will be willing to buy it for their schools. (As it is, I wonder if my editor will let me get away with “crap?”)
I’m anxious to hear what my writer’s group thinks…(and VERY anxious to reach the end now that it’s in sight…)